Kingman city manager fired in latest move

Upheaval in Kingman’s city leadership has continued with the firing of the city manager.

Less than a week after the police chief resigned following an investigation, Frank Soukup was fired on a 3-2 vote Thursday night by the city commission, Commissioner Charlus Bishop confirmed Friday.

Bishop, one of two commissioners who voted not to fire Soukup, said he couldn’t give the reason for the decision or whether it was related to police chief Marc Holloway submitting his resignation Jan. 3.

“All I can say is that three of the commissioners decided it was time to terminate the contract,” Bishop said. “And, really, the reason is probably irrelevant. The point is we let him go.

“We need to replace him and move on.”

Soukup had been Kingman’s city manager since January 2006, Bishop said. Kingman is about 40 miles west of Wichita and has a population of about 3,250.

Earlier this week, Soukup wouldn’t discuss why Holloway had left as police chief.

At the request of city officials, the Kansas Bureau of Investigation began investigating Holloway on Oct. 28. He was placed on administrative leave Nov. 21.

Kingman’s city attorney is considering whether to file charges against Holloway. City Attorney Greg Graffman wouldn’t discuss what those charges might be.

In an unrelated case, a former Kingman police officer, Dustin D. Morris, was arrested earlier this week on allegations that involve child pornography. Morris had not worked for the department since April 2012.

Kingman County Attorney Mathew Ricke said he expects to have reports from the Sheriff’s Office by the middle of next week, which he will forward to a special prosecutor for possible charges.

Ricke isn’t handling the case because he had previously worked on other cases with Morris, when Morris was a police officer.